Acting Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Chad and Niger, Dr. David Cavegn who was in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital alongside Mr. pascal Holliger, Political Adviser at the Embassy, has said that, his country has approved the sum of eight million dollars to help the northeast sub-region and neigbouring Chad Republic in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents.
Dr. David, while speaking on Monday also said that, the amount would not be the only assistance that Switzerland is looking into, but a commencement of a long time assistance to the northeast sub-region, particularly in the fight against insurgency. He said it was an immediate assistance to the Internally Displaced persons,IDPs.
According to him, while the root cause of the insurgency is being looked into in order to have a better understanding of the situation, the Embassy took the opportunity to visit and commiserate with the people and government of Borno state over the unfortunate incidents of Boko Haram attacks.
While commending Switzerland for the practical show of love to the people of the northeast region, the Borno state governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the state government, Alhaji Jidda Usman Shuwa said, over the last six years, the state was invaded by insurgents where about 20 local government councils were overrun.
He said, the insurgents have caused the state its fortunes as both public and private institutions were destroyed.
“Considering the situation in which we found ourselves and the meager resources at our disposal, there is the need for foreign partners and international organizations to come to the aid of the state, especially in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of the destroyed communities,” he said.
He stated further that with the coming of the Buhari’s administration, concrete steps were being taken to subdue the insurgents and eliminate them completely from the country, adding that, for now, several successes have been recorded as many local government headquarters have been reclaimed and some people have started returning to their homes.
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